Having made a successful return from injury, Aphelele Fassi is entering a crucial year of his rugby career, both domestically and on the international front, writes DYLAN JACK.
In his first two appearances since recovering from the injury that required surgery and marred his opportunity of impressing the Bok coaches last November, Fassi has looked renewed and refreshed.
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Having just turned 25 this week, he is entering the stage of his career where he needs to deliver on the potential and promise he has shown since shooting onto the scene as a Dale College star back in 2017.
In many ways, 2023 could be the decisive year of Fassi’s rugby career.
Domestically, he is entering the final year of his Sharks contract, having last signed a three-year extension in 2020. While a new deal would seem obvious, given that he is still highly-rated in Durban, this could also provide Fassi with the opportunity to seek greener pastures.
Should Fassi opt to leave, there would be no shortage of potential suitors, but even to do that he will need to show that he is worth the investment.
Part of what will be driving Fassi this year will be a desire to prove himself worthy of a place as a regular Springbok and earn a spot on the plane that leaves for the World Cup in France.
Following a solid debut season in 2021, marked by tries against Georgia and Argentina, Fassi seems to have fallen out of favour with the Bok selectors, making just one Test appearance in 2022 for a heavily-changed Bok team against Wales in Bloemfontein.
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Fassi, along with loose forward Marcell Coetzee, was then unceremoniously dumped from the Bok squad, and sent back to the Sharks to work on unspecified shortcomings in his game.
While Fassi was called up to the South Africa A side that played in midweek against Bristol Bears and Munster in November, he picked up an injury in the first game of the tour. He has since had to watch Kurt-Lee Arendse complete a dream 2022 with seven tries in seven Tests.
Arendse is not the only player to enjoy a spectacular rise last year, as his Vodacom Bulls teammate Canan Moodie also made a memorable try-scoring Springbok debut. All the while, Cheslin Kolbe has showed signs of getting back to his best at Toulon, while the Springbok coaches are clearly monitoring the progress made by DHL Stormers duo Suleiman Hartzenberg and Leolin Zas.
Over at the Sharks, Boeta Chamberlain has been successfully installed at fullback under Neil Powell and has formed a solid playmaking partnership with Curwin Bosch which has resurrected the team’s fortunes in the Vodacom United Rugby Champions and Champions Cup.
Injuries to Bosch and Chamberlain opened the door for Fassi’s return from the bench against Bordeaux at Kings Park and, in the final-round match against Harlequins in London, he made his first start since the final weekend of October.
In that game, Fassi showed what a weapon he can be on attack, with his boot setting up Lukhanyo Am’s opener in the first minute of play, before the fullback went over for the all-important bonus-point try. However, that was dovetailed with some shaky moments on defence, illustrating what he needs to work on this year.
It’s clear that Fassi, eager to make up for lost time, has had a fire lit inside him but he will need to show his growth as an all-round player to make the most of this pivotal point in his career.
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